


playing hooky

by gigglesandfreckles



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Fluff, can Anakin read in tpm? idk but he can't now according to me, some more baby Ani and new-dad Obi because I just can't get enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26489140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gigglesandfreckles/pseuds/gigglesandfreckles
Summary: angel baby Anakin breaks Obi-Wan's heart and it's not for the last time...womp wooooomp.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 16
Kudos: 171





	playing hooky

**Author's Note:**

> I know I need to branch out but I simply cannot stop writing about these two sweet idiot babies who know nothing!!!!

“Come in.”

The door slid open, but Obi-Wan had to adjust his gaze down to see his visitor.

“Master Yoda,” he nodded respectfully. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Checking in, I am. On a friend.” The small Jedi hobbled into Obi-Wan and Anakin’s shared living quarters, climbing onto the couch.

Obi-Wan smiled. “Well, your timing is excellent. Anakin has class this morning and I just got finished with my own class. I have a fairly clear schedule for the next hour or so.”

“A class favourite, you are, Obi-Wan. Talk about you often, the younglings do.”

The younger Jedi laughed, rolling his eyes. “I’m sure it has nothing to do with my new reputation as a Sith Lord killer.”

Yoda tilted his head, studying Obi-Wan. “Recovered, have you?”

“From Maul?” Obi-Wan blinked in surprise. “Oh, yes. I didn’t leave with much more than a few scratches. It was actually--”

“No.” Yoda interrupted. He didn’t need to explain why.

Obi-Wan gave a small sigh, allowing himself to fall further back into his seat on the sofa. “Some days are...easier than others. Today’s a good day.”

“A great loss, the Order has suffered. Brave and wise, your Master was. Challenged us to grow, he did.”

Obi-Wan snorted affectionately. “Challenge is certainly  _ one _ way to put it. Qui-Gon never was one to sit and let things roll off of him.” He frowned in thought. “A trait I think the Order’s newest member has in common with my old Master.”

“The perfect teacher, you are, then.”

Obi-Wan shook his head, exhaling deeply. “I don’t know, Master.” He leaned forward in his seat, rubbing at his chin absent-mindedly. “I must admit that I’m in over my head.”

“Yes,” Yoda nodded, thoughtfully. “Concerned for Young Skywalker, many of his teachers are.”

Obi-Wan looked up quickly. “Is he...is he falling behind in his lessons? I can talk to him. He’s incredibly bright; I know that I can--”

Yoda shook his head. “No. Not his studies. Intelligent, Young Skywalker is.”

“Then what?”

“Grown in the Force, the boy has.” Yoda paused. “Mastered silence, he has not.”

Obi-Wan sat rigid, waiting for Yoda to continue. When he did not, the younger Jedi lowered his eyebrows. “Master, was that...was that a joke?”

Yoda’s eyes seemed to dance as he watched Obi-Wan.

Finally, Obi-Wan broke, laughing harder than he had laughed in a long time. At least since before Naboo. Yoda joined him, offering his own strange cackle.

When Obi-Wan was in the creche, Master Yoda’s laugh had always frightened him, but now it gave him a comfort he had not felt in many other places recently.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan managed, nodding through his laughter, “I can’t say Anakin is very good at staying quiet.”

“Teach him, I do. But  _ live _ with him, you do.” Yoda smiled. “Extra doses of the Force, you may be in need of.”

Obi-Wan shook his head, not believing that he was having this conversation with Master Yoda of all Jedi.

“He asks...a lot of questions.” said Obi-Wan. “I’m glad he’s anxious to learn! And I’m happy to explain things to him. I know this is all new, but…,” he lowered his voice conspiratorially, “Master, it never  _ ends _ .”

Yoda began to cackle again and Obi-Wan could only close his eyes, shaking his head as he thought of how many times Anakin would bust into his room with a new observation or question. There was no such thing as privacy anymore.

“Many Padawans, I have had.” mused Yoda. Obi-Wan wondered if he imagined the sadness in the Grand Master’s tone or if it had something to do with the recent news of Dooku’s departure from the Order. “But unique, Young Skywalker is. Strong in the Force. And in willingness to learn.”

Obi-Wan smiled fondly, thinking of his Padawan. “He is, that. I only hope I can rise to the challenge of being his teacher.”

“Hmm,” said Yoda, “a similar conversation I recall having, with a young Master Jinn.”

This made Obi-Wan look up expectantly. “Qui-Gon talked to you about...about me?”

“Uncertain,  _ all _ good teachers are.” Yoda nodded warmly. “But learn, you will. With your Padawan.”

It was a selfish desire, but Obi-Wan wanted nothing more than to sit with Master Yoda all day and ask him to recount everything he could about Qui-Gon. He’d write it all down and read it every night, honouring his Master in memory.

_ But that is not honour _ , a deep voice resounded in his head.

It was not the first time lessons from Qui-Gon had come rushing to Obi-Wan’s head since Naboo.

“Proud, he would be,” Yoda interrupted his thoughts, fixing Obi-Wan with a knowing look.

The younger Jedi cast his eyes to the floor, ashamed of so openly mourning his Master. It wasn’t the Jedi way to dwell on the dead and a Jedi as skilled in the Force as Master Yoda could no doubt read Obi-Wan’s uncontrolled emotions, easily.

“Sorry, Master.” Obi-Wan dipped his head.

Yoda climbed out of the chair and offered Obi-Wan another smile. “Right about you, Qui-Gon was.”

Right about what?, he wanted to ask.

“Check on your Padawan, you should.”

Obi-Wan frowned. “He’s in lessons until lunch.”

“Hmm,” Yoda seemed to almost sing as he walked toward the door. “Consider this again, perhaps.” With one last slightly maniacal chuckle, he closed the door behind him.

Obi-Wan watched the door even after it shut, rubbing at his chin as he deciphered the strangeness of the older Jedi’s words. 

Anakin had Philosophy until ten hundred and a group meditation after that. The kid had just been complaining to him about how boring he found Master Sinube before they went to bed last night.

_ Wait _ .

Silently, Obi-Wan moved from the couch toward Anakin’s room. Stopping at the door, he closed his eyes and felt for familiarity in the Force. With a start, his eyes shot open.

The airtight seal popped as Obi-Wan slid the door open.

Sitting on the floor, in a heap of droid parts was his “incredibly bright” Padawan.

“Anakin!”

The young Jedi jumped, dropping his wrench to the ground. “I thought you had class!” he said, his voice coming out rushed and high-pitched.

“I thought YOU had class!” Obi-Wan snapped in response, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m sorry,” Anakin whined, though he sounded anything but. “I just...I  _ hate _ group meditation.”

“You cannot expect to become a Jedi if you do not meditate,” growled Obi-Wan.

“But it’s so  _ bor-ing _ !”

“Not everything in this world is designed for the sole purpose of amusing you,” Obi-Wan crouched to the floor sweeping up the droid parts to make his point. “Mechanics is not a Jedi skill.”

“But you said I could work on this in my free time! Besides, Artoo--”

“During group meditation does not exactly count as your free time, now does it, Padawan?”

Anakin pouted, crossing his arms. “My droid parts are the only fun thing I get to do. It’s not fair that I have to sit in class all day long and then come here and sit in silence with you.”

Obi-Wan’s jaw dropped. Sit in “silence?” 

“You’re never silent!” he spouted off, throwing his hands in the air for emphasis. “You come in from your day of lessons and don’t shut up from the minute you walk in the door until you go to sleep! And you normally think of something to say in the middle of the night that constitutes waking me up!”

Anakin looked like he was about to retort back, but his mouth shut and Obi-Wan immediately knew he made a mistake. The boy bit at his lower lip, but it did little to hide the tremble.

_ Kriff. _

Obi-Wan took a deep breath.

“Anakin,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t kind; I was speaking from my emotions.”

The Padawan scrunched his nose, obviously willing the oncoming tears to stay back.

Obi-Wan lowered himself to the floor across from Anakin and sighed. This talk had been a long time coming, for both of them.

“I shouldn’t have said those things. I’m proud of you for your curiosity and desire to learn and it’s not fair for me to hold that against you.” He set the droid parts on the ground in between them as a peace treaty. “Can you forgive me?”

Anakin studied Obi-Wan, searching for any ounce of betrayal. When he seemed to find none, he sniffled and gave a weak nod.

“I’m...I’m sorry I skipped meditation and philosophy,” he murmured. “And I’m sorry I talk too much.”

It was like a punch to the gut. “Anakin, no, I didn’t--”

“Watto used to tell me the same thing, so it’s okay. I know it’s true.”

Now it was Obi-Wan who wanted to cry. Had his Padawan just compared him to his former slaver?

_ Kriff _ , was he doing this wrong.

“It’s  _ not _ true, Anakin. I don’t know why I said it.” Obi-Wan shook his head furiously. How could he be so careless with his words? The boy was nine!

“My mom used to tell me to try and keep my questions to Watto and the customers down to less than five a day,” continued Anakin, matter-of-factly. Obi-Wan wanted to stop him and reassure him that he wasn’t annoyed by his existence the way a  _ slave master would be _ , but this was the first time Anakin had opened up about Tatooine, so he decided to listen.

“When the day was over, she’d let me ask her all the questions I didn’t get to ask during the day.” He fiddled with one of the droid parts and chewed on his lip. “She never really knew the answers, but she pretended to.”

“She loved you.” said Obi-Wan with understanding.

“Loves,” corrected Anakin sharply. “I’m gonna go back and free her soon. That’s why I have to become a Jedi fast.”

Obi-Wan’s chest constricted as he watched this small, sad boy.

The Chosen One. Qui-Gon had been so sure.

Honestly, Obi-Wan didn’t know what to think of it all, but hanging the balance of the galaxy on the shoulders of a nine-year-old boy who just wanted to free his mother from slavery seemed like a big task.

“You’ve already made so much progress.”

“I’m the worst in all of my classes,” Anakin shrugged with a small frown, picking at the rusted corner of the droid part.

“That’s not what Master Yoda says. He thinks you’re a quick learner and is particularly impressed with your ability to channel the Force.” Obi-Wan pointed out in a desperate attempt to convey how valuable this boy was, not just to him, but to the Order.

“I can use the Force,” Anakin nodded, saying this as if it were the most simple thing in the galaxy. “I feel it like a heart-beat in my hands when I’m really happy or really angry.”

That was a curious way of describing the Force and probably something Obi-Wan should bring up with Master Yoda later, not to mention him throwing around phrases like “really happy” and “really angry” in a blatant rejection of the Jedi Code. But he reminded himself how new all of this was to Anakin.

“It prickles at me when I’m trying to sleep, sometimes.”

“The Force?” Obi-Wan asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Anakin shrugged. “Sometimes it tries to tell me to do something.”

“Like what?”

Anakin clammed up really fast. “I don’t...I don’t want to say.”

Obi-Wan frowned, trying to understand. “Does it make you want to do things that are wrong?”

Anakin fiddled with the droid part in silence.

The older Jedi took another deep breath. He had anticipated this to a certain extent. With Anakin’s midichlorian levels being what they were, it was impossible that he’d never struggle with the Force. But, the Dark Side attacking a nine-year-old?

It had only been a  _ month _ .

“Anakin. This...prickling. What do you do when you feel it...telling you to do something?” He stumbled, trying to put it the same way Anakin had.

“I try to just go back to sleep.”

“Does that work?”

“No.” Anakin’s shoulders dropped. “So, that’s when I go wake you up,” he continued in a small voice.

Obi-Wan blinked. “That’s when you…” he trailed off, the pieces falling together.

The very thing Obi-Wan had been yelling at Anakin about was Anakin’s attempt to resist the Dark Side.

“I’m sorry,” said Anakin hurriedly, avoiding eye contact. “I don’t want to make you mad, but sometimes the Force is really scary and I...it just helps me to have someone to talk to. I don’t feel so...alone.”

Obi-Wan really wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. 

“Anakin, you’re not alone. You’re  _ never _ alone.” insisted Obi-Wan. “The Force can...seem scary. And there are things about it that you don’t yet know. Things I need to be better about preparing you for.” He grimaced at the guilt he felt over the image of his Padawan laying in bed fighting the Dark Side with no knowledge of what he was even fighting. “But the Force is meant to guide you. As you grow in it, you will learn how to trust it.”

Anakin seemed to consider this for a moment and gave one of his trademark shrugs. Obi-Wan’s lips twitched as he retained his smile at the boy’s strange antics.

“Why don’t you get your Philosophy book and we can go over what you missed this morning together,” suggested Obi-Wan. “I’m no Master Sinube, but I’m not so terrible at philosophy.”

Anakin’s hand froze over a droid part. “I don’t, uh, I don’t know where my books are.”

Obi-Wan sighed in exasperation. “Anakin, I told you to keep them all on the table in the common room so you wouldn’t misplace them.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.”

Obi-Wan gently grabbed the part from Anakin’s hands and laid it on the ground. “You need to find them. Now, please.”

Anakin squirmed. “But I don’t know where they are.”

“Well, this isn’t a large room. You look in here and I’ll check the common room.”

“ _ No! _ ” shouted Anakin, hopping up. “I’ll check the common room,  _ you _ check in here.”

“ _ Anakin _ ,” Obi-Wan’s eyebrows lowered into a glare, as he followed his Padawan into the common room. His glare turned into a frown as he saw Anakin grab the books  _ from the table where Obi-Wan had told him to keep them _ and try to stuff them up his shirt.

“What are you  _ doing? _ ” Obi-Wan shook his head, incredulously. “Give me the books.”

“I don’t have any books. I lost them.”

“Anakin, I just saw you--”

“They’re not here, Obi! I don’t know wh--”

“ _ Anakin! _ ” snapped Obi-Wan, his voice rolling off the walls around them. He hoped Yoda had moved far away from their quarters not to hear this particular outburst. “ _ What is going on? _ ” His voice dropped to a normal,  _ far more dangerous _ , volume.

Anakin swallowed, slowly pulling the books out from under his shirt.

The older Jedi moved toward him, hating the way Anakin shrunk away from him like he was anticipating some sort of physical discipline. The compassion he felt looking at the small boy cleared his remaining anger. “Why don’t you want me to see your Jedi texts?” he asked, careful to speak softly.

Anakin stared at the floor, silently.

Obi-Wan squatted to the ground, catching Anakin’s gaze from the bottom-up. “Padawan,” he said patiently. “Will you please explain to me what’s going on?”

There was the quivering bottom lip again.

“I… ” Anakin started. “I…,” a sniff, “I can’t read.” The words fell out of his mouth, drenched in embarrassment and self-loathing.

Obi-Wan blinked in confusion. “You can’t...read?”

The younger Jedi shook his head, his tiny Padawan braid swinging around his shoulders.

“Any language? Basic? Huttese?” pressed Obi-Wan.

Anakin swiped at a renegade tear. “I never learned.”

If Obi-Wan had felt ashamed of his temper before, it was  _ nothing  _ compared to how he felt now. Why had he never considered the possibility of his ex-slave Padawan being illiterate? He was foolish to assume Anakin would be ready to jump into lessons at the Temple mere  _ days _ after leaving his home planet.

It had been Obi-Wan who had urged the Council to let Anakin start learning immediately, claiming the sooner the better. He never even thought to take the time to let the kid settle and find out basic information about him like  _ was he able to read? _

“I’m so sorry, young one,” Obi-Wan shook his head in shame. “I never thought about that.”

“S’okay,” Anakin sniffled, trying and failing to offer one of his shrugs of nonchalance.

“It’s  _ not _ okay. It’s my job to make sure you are learning and I failed you by never checking to ask if you were  _ ready _ to learn.”

“You didn’t fail me, Obi. I’m the stupid one who can’t read, not you. Every other youngling, even the crechelings, can--”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan stopped him. “You have had a very different path than them. Don’t compare yourself.”

“It’s hard not to,” admitted Anakin, returning his gaze to the floor. “When the Masters call on us to read from the texts, they’re so  _ good _ at it. And I...I always leave mine in here so I can tell them I’m unprepared for class.”

Obi-Wan’s heart twinged at hearing that Anakin willingly accepted a reprimand in front of the entire class every time he was called on to read to avoid humiliation of admitting his own illiteracy. 

“Do you have a desire to learn to read?” he asked softly.

Anakin gave the tiniest of nods.

“I could…” Obi-Wan cleared his throat, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I could teach you, if you’d like.”

He immediately regretted it. Obi-Wan could barely teach the kid how to keep a neat  _ room _ , what business did he have teaching him to  _ read? _

Anakin’s head snapped up. “Really?”

Obi-Wan was taken aback by the excitement in his Padawan’s tone. “I’ve never taught anyone how to read before, but...we could try?”

The younger Jedi nodded vigorously. “That would be so cool.”

_ Cool _ . 

Obi-Wan chuckled. “Reading basic is something most humans learn at a very young age, so it’ll be difficult. You’ll have to be diligent in your effort.”

“I will, I promise, Master,” Anakin blinked away the remaining moisture in his eyes, now bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I already know how to spell my name. First  _ and _ last,” he added proudly.

“Well,” said Obi-Wan, patting the spot next to him on the couch, “the next words we’re going to learn are  _ group meditation. _ ”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, commenting, kudosing, smiling, ALL OF THE THINGS.  
> xoxo
> 
> tumblr: giggles-and-freckles


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